• Adam Todd, Nasima Akhter, Joanne-Marie Cairns, Adetayo Kasim, Nick Walton, Amanda Ellison, Paul Chazot, Sam Eldabe, and Clare Bambra.
• Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
• BMJ Open. 2018 Sep 11; 8 (7): e023391.

ObjectivesOur central research question was, in England, are geographical inequalities in opioid use driven by health need (pain)? To answer this question, our study examined: (1) if there are regional inequalities in rates of chronic pain prevalence, pain intensity and opioid utilisation in England; (2) if opioid use and chronic pain are associated after adjusting for individual-level and area-level confounders.DesignCross-sectional study design using data from the Health Survey for England 2011.SettingEngland.Primary And Secondary Outcome MeasuresChronic pain prevalence, pain intensity and opioid utilisation.ParticipantsParticipant data relating to chronic pain prevalence, pain intensity and opioid usage data were obtained at local authority level from the Health Survey for England 2011; in total, 5711 respondents were included in our analysis.MethodsRegional and local authority data were mapped, and a generalised linear model was then used to explore the relationships between the data. The model was adjusted to account for area-level and individual-level variables.ResultsThere were geographical variations in chronic pain prevalence, pain intensity and opioid utilisation across the English regions-with evidence of a 'pain divide' between the North and the South, whereby people in the North of England more likely to have 'severely limiting' or 'moderately limiting' chronic pain. The intensity of chronic pain was significantly and positively associated with the use of opioid analgesics.ConclusionsThere are geographical differences in chronic pain prevalence, pain intensity and opioid utilisation across England-with evidence of a 'pain divide'. Given the public health concerns associated with the long-term use of opioid analgesics-and their questionable activity in the management of chronic pain-more guidance is needed to support prescribers in the management of chronic pain, so the initiation of opioids can be avoided.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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